Late bus not a problem for Niles Democrats

Get-out-the-vote message delivered at stump for Truesdell.

Get-out-the-vote message delivered at stump for Truesdell.

November 04, 2006|LOU MUMFORD Tribune Staff Writer

NILES -- If Democrats who gathered in downtown Niles on Friday for an appearance by Gov. Jennifer Granholm were bothered by her late arrival, they certainly didn't show it. "Four more years! Four more years!'' chanted the crowd of nearly 200 after Granholm emerged from her "Putting Michigan First'' campaign tour bus. The bus carrying Granholm, former Gov. James Blanchard, Democratic state Attorney General candidate Amos Williams and other Democratic notables was nearly an hour late as it pulled up Friday afternoon to Niles Democrat Judy Truesdell's campaign headquarters on North Second Street. But Blanchard seemed to make up for the lost time with a rousing speech touting Granholm's candidacy over Republican gubernatorial hopeful Dick DeVos. Blanchard, who was upset by Republican John Engler 12 years ago, urged the crowd to disregard Granholm's seemingly comfortable lead in the polls. "No matter how good it looks, we've got to get the vote out,'' he said. "Don't let the polls put you to sleep.'' Echoing a message she has used throughout her re-election campaign, Granholm linked Michigan's economic woes to "unfair trade agreements'' enacted while Republicans controlled the White House. She accused DeVos of lobbying for such policies while he was president of Amway. The state's only recourse for getting its auto industry back on track is to invest in its own residents, she said. "We need to invest in workers that have had the rug pulled out from under them ... We need a 'No Worker Left Behind' law,'' she said. Williams emphasized the importance of Tuesday's election, going so far as to call it a "war.'' "It's right wing versus the right thing,'' he said. Truesdell, trying to become the first woman and first Democrat to fill the 78th District state House seat, said she's looking forward to working with Granholm to move Michigan forward. "We're going to give them a run for their money,'' she said as the crowd shouted her name. Truesdell's race against two-term state Rep. Neal Nitz, R-Baroda, has been labeled a tossup by Bill Ballenger, publisher of the Lansing-based biweekly newsletter "Inside Michigan Politics.'' But the daily political newsletter MIRS (Michigan Information & Research Service), also based in Lansing, has taken the position that Nitz is not in trouble. The publication doesn't include the 78th District among its top 10, or even top 19, most closely contested state House races. Two years ago, Nitz defeated Howard Township Democrat Mike Gordon by more than 3,000 votes. Granholm's bus tour was to continue this morning with a rally in Detroit with former President Bill Clinton. A stop in Flint is scheduled for later today. Staff writer Lou Mumford:lmumford@sbtinfo.com(269) 687-7002